I am deeply honored to present a talk this coming Saturday at Bear Valley Springs, a wonderful retirement community where my UCLA Ph. D advisor, Professor Richard Turco, and his lovely wife, Linda Turco, now reside. Thank you Rich for inviting me! You are simply one of the dearest and kindest human beings I have ever met and worked with. The world needs more people like you to teach, inspire and lead the way.
Rich has an uncanny resemblance to Kirk Douglas. At my Ph. D ceremony in 1994 my father thought he was the legend himself. To me, however, Rich is a true steward of the Earth and a legend beyond reproach.
Scientist to lecture on her escape from Iran
Fun facts about Rich (photo caption): Scientist Richard Turco and Carl Sagan were on the scientific team that devised the concept of nuclear winter. In the photo … [Read more...]

It's an honor to present my book, The Sky Detective, at my alma mater on May 19 ( Room 365, Humanities Building). First time to give a talk in the Humanities Department of a major university. I hope the trend continues!
… [Read more...]

"I will be on that boat attempting to escape the madness. What about you?" I asked an audience of about 100 people on June 8.
I ended my my Book Talk, sponsored by Los Altos Voices for Peace, with the photo and the question above.
Photo shows desperate Syrian refugees on an overcrowded boat hoping to cross the sea and arrive on the Greek island of Kos. The tragic events unfolding in Syria reminds me of my own journey of escaping Iran for a chance to find peace elsewhere in the world. … [Read more...]

Yesterday, I presented a talk at NASA in celebration of the Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The topics covered ranged from showing a hula dance, performed by the Nixon Elementary kindergarten class, to the escape route that my brother, Sean Taba, and I took to get smuggled out of Iran in 1982. I was re-invited by the Asian-American advisory committee at NASA because our story of escaping a dictatorship and finding success in America is one that is shared among many nations. … [Read more...]

Book Talk at NASA on March 15 organized by Women's Influence Network (WIN). It was a wonderful event and over hundred people showed up. However, I didn't get a chance to finish my talk. Why?
I had a slide up about the Cinema Rex fire/arson on August 19, 1978 in Abadan, Iran that claimed many lives--an event that many historians believe was the key that triggered the 1979 Iranian revolution. As I was discussing the event a lady rushed up to the stage, grabbed the microphone and said, "Smoke is coming out of the control room. Please leave the auditorium immediately."
I am going back to NASA to finish my talk, hopefully soon. Stay tuned! … [Read more...]

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/march-8-1979-anti-veiling-protest-iran-azadeh-tabazadeh
A travel down the memory lane! I was fourteen years old at the time of this protest, which I attended with my mother, Azar, and a group of her friends. Despite Ayatollah Khomeini's promise that he will be a religious leader, two weeks after his arrival in Tehran on February 1, 1979, he began preaching Shariat, mandating all women to wear the veil. Over 100,000 men and women took to the streets of Tehran to protest against veiling on March 8, 1979--International Women's Day. Initially, the Ayatollah backed off, but sadly within a year veiling became mandatory.
Below, I share an excerpt from my memoir--The Sky Detective: How I fled Iran and Became a NASA Scientist--recalling the events of March 8, 1979. This excerpt is from the "Revolution … [Read more...]

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/repealing-discriminatory-visa-wavier-bill-h-r-158-how-tabazadeh?trk=pulse_spock-articles
On December 18, 2015, the Untied States Congress passed a discriminatory visa- wavier bill, which placed unconstitutional travel restrictions upon dual-citizens of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Sudan.
On February 1, 2016, sixty-five civil rights, faith, refugee, and humanitarian organizations sent a letter to congress pointing out the discriminatory clauses of this bill. A copy of the letter, along with a full list of organizations that oppose this discriminatory bill, can be found at:
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
Professor Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights wrote, "This pernicious restriction is shameful, xenophobic, and completely … [Read more...]

A BOOK CLUB gathering at Sandra's beautiful home in Castro Valley on 2/3/16. Thank you SO much Carol for selecting my book, Sandra for hosting, and to you all for reading "The Sky Detective" and sharing your thoughts with me. Almost everyone requested that I tell the story of my journey once we landed at the LAX airport in July 1982 with nothing other than a 6-month student visa, which is where the narrative ends in "The Sky Detective." Write to me if you are of the same opinion! … [Read more...]

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/goodreads-giveaway-copies-sky-detective-azadeh-tabazadeh?trk=pulse_spock-articles
Read the Kirkus Review at:
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/azadeh-tabazadeh/sky-detective/
Enter the Goodreads Giveaway Contest to win a free softcover copy of The Sky Detective: A memoir of how I fled Iran and became a NASA Scientist.
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/enter_choose_address/167690-the-sky-detective-a-memoir
Naturally, I am super-excited and wanted to share the news with colleagues, followers and friends. I hope my personal story touches the hearts and minds of those who may wonder about who we (Iranian-Americans) are and what values we stand for.
Azadeh Tabazadeh … [Read more...]

Advance Praise

How a girl’s memoir, growing up in a chaotic time of a revolution, takes you softly into the realm of innocent beauty is the miracle of “The Sky Detective.”— Parviz Sayyad, Highly Famed Actor and Director of Iranian Cinema